Marlins 3, Cubs 2; So here we are...

The Cubs once again failed to show up at the plate, and to take advantage of another solid Rich Harden outing in losing 3-2 to the Marlins in 12 innings. Coupled with the Brewers comeback win over the Astros last night, both teams are now tied for 1st place in the NL Central.

You know it's been a practically a day since the game started, and I'll still not sure what to think of what I saw. Whether it was the 12:05 start time, the umpire delay in the second inning, someone other than Carlos Marmol pitching in relief, or Kosuke Fukudome hitting 8th in the lineup - man, how the mighty have fallen - this game was almost surreal. And that was before both Matt Sinatro and Lou Piniella were ejected in the 9th arguing a Mark DeRosa infield hit. Mark probably should have kept on running, but instead chose to slide head-first ahead of a Hanley Ramirez throw to first. He looked safe, but when he was called out, all hell broke loose. First 1st base coach Matt Sinatro was ejected immediately. Then Lou Piniella was tossed by 1st base ump, wait for it...Rob Drake. This is starting to become a bit of a habit, and one has to wonder whether there is a bit of an axe to grind. Unfortunately for Lou though, I think he'll be on the wrong side of this battle, as it appears from some photos I've seen this morning, he bumped him, and that should mean suspension. Sadly, count on the bleacher drunks to embarrass the city yet again by tossing plastic bottles and garbage onto the field. This put another 10 minutes on the game delay, and proovided what should be national fodder for the next day or so. Like I said, weird day.

All this ruined yet another outstanding outing from starter Rich Harden, again fanning 10 in six innings of work. He really does look destined to be the tough-luck pitcher this season, as his sub-1.00 ERA has been good for an 0-1 record since joining the Cubs. Sean Marshall then came in to go three strong innings in relief, which was a sight unto itself for obvious reasons. Even more interesting was Sean hitting for himself in the seventh inning, which I cried foul about. Well, at least until he smacked a solid single into left. I sensed that Lou was prepared to eat this game if need be, to reset the bullpen the way that he needed. The upcoming Milwaukee series looms even larger now, and I think he might have been looking to rest his power arms a bit. Don't be surprised to see more of the same today. Could even a Scott Eyre sighting be in our future?

It was pretty much for naught though, as the Cubs offense couldn't do anything against what looked like the entire Marlins bullpen, forcing Piniella to use those power arms anyway. Marmol went 1 2/3 innings, with another two from Chad Gaudin, who took the loss when Jorge Cantu beat him for a 12th-inning double.

This is way too much good pitching to not capitalize. Let's get this game today, and get ready for the Brewers. There are some nice shots from the game yesterday in the media gallery; check them out. And by the way, the game today has been moved to TBS; same start time. I feel for those outside the Chicagoland area. Let's just say that I think that Ron Darling needs some work.

Cubs 9, Marlins 6; Applause to Mighty Mike

Pinch-hitter Mike Fontenot hit a three-run double in the 7th, and Jeff Samardzija went two innings in relief for his first major-league save, as the Cubs outlasted the Florida Marlins 9-6. The win restores the Cubs to sole possession of 1st place in the NL Central, as the Milwaukee Brewers lost earlier this afternoon.

I'm reminded of an exchange that I had earlier this week at another blog. With the health of Jim Edmonds in question at the time, someone was explaining the logic of calling up Felix Pie. While the guy made a fine argument, my position ultimately was that it was highly unlikely that this would happen, as Kosuke Fukudome in center, Mark DeRosa in right, and Mike Fontenot at 2nd base was perfectly acceptable when facing a right-hand pitcher for awhile if needed. Basically, why replay the Pie foibles when you have a .280/.373/.528 left-handed solution on the bench already? I'm still waiting for an answer, but in the meantime, Mike keeps coming up big; this time with a go-ahead double that scored three to give the Cubs the win.

Both teams had little trouble scoring runs today actually, albeit for perhaps different reasons. The Cubs took advantage of a bad starter in Rick VandenHurk, who couldn't throw strikes in his 3 2/3 innings of work, and an equally bad back-half of the Marlins bullpen. The Marlins went homer happy off of Jason Marquis - three in all - who regressed to his normal summertime state. Too many home runs, too much nibbling, and frankly, he just looked dazed and confused. Again. I often wondered why Cardinals fans referred to him as bipolar Betty. I shouldn't have asked. Fortunately, he pitched just well enough to not completely blow the game,

What was really interesting though was the use of Chad Gaudin and Samardzija in relief. Like I spoke of yesterday, I sensed that Lou Piniella would stretch out a couple of guys to get his relievers aligned and rested for the Brewers set. That looked to pretty much be the thinking today from the outset. First, he stuck with Marquis for six innings - much longer than he wanted, to be sure - and then brought Samardzija back in the ninth for a save opportunity that you'd normally expect him to go to Marmol for, even if his arm was dangling. Fortunately, Jeff proved up to the task, although a diving catch by Jim Edmonds for the third out of the inning saved him from getting burned by another one of those laissez-faire fastballs.

So, with strong relief, and good hitting, including a pair of home runs by Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee, the Cubs split the series. It wasn't pretty, but I'll take it. On to Milwaukee, and hopefully a series win against the Brewers.